Gallina Centro Property Sells for $7.1 Million

An affiliate of the Phoenix-based real estate investment trust Cole Capital Advisors Inc. has paid $7.1 million for the portion of the Gallina Centro strip center in Collierville that houses HomeGoods and Michael’s.

Built this year, the Class A retail space sits in the middle of Gallina Centro, a 450,000-square-foot center anchored by Kroger and Kohl’s that sits at the northwest corner of South Houston Levee and Winchester roads.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2012 appraisal of the 5.6-acre parcel, which includes the parking lot fronting the retail space, is $1.8 million.

Sugar Land, Texas-based Montex paid $2.1 million for the property last year from Gallina Centro LLC, an entity affiliated with Memphis-based Boyle Investment Co., which developed Gallina Centro.

Developer Gil Ryan was behind the Gallina Centro infill development that was slated to include a 21,360-square-foot Michael’s, a 24,000-square-foot HomeGoods and 3,200 square feet of speculative tenant space.

Gallina Centro is bounded by Poplar Avenue to the north, Houston Levee Road to the east and Winchester Road to the south, within Collierville’s annexation reserve area.

Cole owns much of Gallina Centro in multiple parcels with the local office of The Shopping Center Group serving as broker.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Permit Filed for Seasons 52 at Crescent Center

Preparations have been made for Seasons 52’s first Memphis location at the Crescent Center, according to a recent permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement.

A $1.7 million permit has been filed for construction of the new restaurant at 6085 Poplar Ave. Seasons 52 will span 9,231 square feet at the corner of Poplar and Ridgeway Road.

Owned by Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Concepts Inc., Seasons 52 currently operates 34 locations in 16 states, according to its website. Menus change four times a year, and none of the dishes exceed 475 calories. The new restaurant will create approximately 100 new jobs in the area and will be open in fall 2013, as previously reported by The Daily News.

“We’ve got to do work to provide the pads for Darden that involves some demolition and reconfiguration of the parking lot, adding parking – prep work, if you will,” Guinn said.

Brenda Solomito is handling the land planning for Darden and for Highwoods.

An 8,946-square-foot The Capital Grille will eventually go to the west in front of the Crescent Center’s attached garage along Poplar. The Capital Grille is also owned by Darden.

– Sarah Baker

Fred’s Sales Metric Falls 3.6 Percent in November

Fred’s Inc. reported Thursday that its sales fell for November due to intense competition over the Thanksgiving weekend and the effect of the company’s increasingly popular layaway deals, which get reported later.

Revenue for stores open at least a year fell 3.6 percent for the month that ended Nov. 24. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 2.8 percent decline. This is considered a key indicator of a retailer’s financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores.

The retailer struggled with intense competition and increased promotions surrounding Thanksgiving and Black Friday, said CEO Bruce Efird. Black Friday is the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, a key period for retailers.

Fred’s said layaway sales climbed to record levels, but that revenue won’t be accounted for until final payments are made. The company expects stronger sales ahead as shoppers complete those layaway purchases and its marketing programs pick up.

In the year through November, revenue rose 3 percent to $1.57 billion, but declined 1.1 percent for stores open at least a year.

Fred’s operates 709 discount stores in the southeastern United States.

– The Associated Press

Expert Warns Tax Break End Would Hit Tennessee Hard

A tax expert is warning state officials that Tennessee would be among the hardest-hit states if federal officials don’t resolve the so-called fiscal cliff.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Dr. Stan Chervin updated Gov. Bill Haslam and other state officials Wednesday, saying states that depend heavily on sales taxes for revenue would feel the most stress if tax breaks are not extended.

He said if the Bush-era tax cuts and newer payroll tax reductions are not extended, Tennessee residents will have less disposable income.

“So what are you going to do with less? You’re probably going to spend less,” Chervin said. “All those things are going to reduce take-home (money) if they go away, and that’s what we use to buy stuff. And that’s how we run the state.”

He noted that about 54 cents of each tax dollar in Tennessee comes from the state sales tax. Tennessee has no broad-based income tax, like most other states do.

Chervin is a senior research consultant with the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

The same information was outlined earlier by Chervin to the commission, which is made up of state legislators and local government officials.

David Thurman, Haslam’s budget director, said Tennessee could expect a cut in federal dollars flowing to state programs of more than $100 million. That’s up from an earlier administration projection of $85 million.

Among estimated cuts to programs would be $22 million in aid to low-income students, a similar reduction in special education funding, $8.9 million less in Head Start funding and the same amount of loss in nutritional aid to low-income mothers and preschool-age children.

– The Associated Press

Flip Flop Shops Opens at Wolfchase

Flip Flop Shops has opened its newest location in Tennessee inside Wolfchase Galleria.

There are already two Flip Flop Shops locations open in Tennessee; one in Nashville and one in Franklin. The Memphis opening is part of a global growth strategy that calls for 236 locations to be open or in the development pipeline by 2013.

With more than 70 shops currently operating and more than 100 in development, the company also is targeting the Northeast, Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, among other markets for expansion.

– Andy Meek

Family Dollar Teams Up With Mid-South Food Bank

Family Dollar is teaming up with the Mid-South Food Bank for a four-week holiday fundraising initiative that will be held at Memphis-area Family Dollar stores through Dec. 19.

During that time, guests visiting area Family Dollar stores will have the opportunity to make a donation to the Mid-South Food Bank. All donations will go to the food bank to aid in its holiday assistance programs.

In a statement, Mid-South Food Bank community relations manager David Stephens said the collaboration will help raise funds to meet the increasing need in the local community. With today’s continued economic uncertainty, he said, the food bank has seen continued growth in the number of people in need of its services.

– Andy Meek

Electric Vehicle Maker to Open Chicago Plant

A company that makes commercial vehicles powered entirely by electricity for FedEx Corp., Coca-Cola Co., DHL and other corporations is opening a manufacturing plant in Chicago.

Smith Electric Vehicles Corp.’s new plant is expected to create hundreds of jobs and boost the city’s growing battery and electric vehicle sector.

The city has a $15 million incentive program designed to encourage the conversion of commercial vehicle fleets from diesel to all-electric, zero-emission vehicles. Smith is based in Kansas City, Mo.